Laurent Marcel Salinas: “She Will Be Your Desire”

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Curatorial Statement 

“She Will Be Your Desire” is a recollection of the artist Laurent Marcel Salinas’ early work from 1948 - 1950 depicting the beauty of femininity. The study of the body has been a timeless classic where millions of artists throughout their lifetime still revisit today, not only as a practice but to perfect the feminine form. It is a source of inspiration that we all allure, the lust within each brushstroke creating the gentlest curve. Some artists portray the body as beautiful and artistic, while others try to bring out a different picture of just a naked body attaching it to a deeper meaning. Artists also craft nude paintings to express emotions and feelings that viewers can connect with viewing the nakedness differently. 

Salinas prolific output as a painter falls mostly into three categories: landscapes, nudes, and still-life. While he toyed at various times with different stylistic paradigms, including those of cubism and fauvism, ultimately Salinas’ commitment was to the poetry of light, color, and form as they were brought to bear on the representation of people, places, and objects. Salinas has explored this cubistic technic with oil painting of nudes, rendering in a fragmented manner with accents of vivid colors.Representing the human body has been one of the major themes throughout art history since prehistoric times. In fact, among the paintings that have marked history, many are nude paintings of bodies, more specifically naked woman. 

Curated by G. Natasha Ramirez 

Curatorial Statement 

“In visual perception, a thing is never seen as it really is” Josef Albers

Color is the most contrasting opulence within creation, varying from how it is applied, what it is applied to, which lighting is surrounding it and what other colors are in proximity, all influencing its appeal to your eye. Josef Albers writes, “In visual perception a color is almost never seen as it really is – as it physically is. This fact makes color the most relative medium in art.”

Exploring color with geometric abstraction, color theorist Josef Albers concluded color was best studied through experience. He began creating his iconic squares in the 1950s producing paintings of three or four vibrant colors where the overlaying of colors changes the viewer’s perspective of each color and heightens their differences. This monumental series consists of 127 original silkscreens that are a definitive survey of the artists most important color and shape theories. Red is representative of passion; orange is optimism and yellow happiness. These are the main colors of autumn leaves that slowly fall to the ground on the light winds ending the season. All leaves are unique in color and shape; however, this uniqueness quickly gives way as more leaves fall creating a patchwork of complimentary colors just as Albers accomplishes with his colors and geometric abstraction. 

Curated by G. Natasha Ramirez 

A copy of the colophon bearing Albers’ hand-signature and the edition number is included with artwork.

Credit: The Interaction of Color (1963).